Another Step Forward

We picked a replacement tile for our bedroom floor before we went on vacation and Wednesday the installers showed up bright and early. 

We’d decided not to go with hardwood planks again - getting flooded twice taught us a lesson. 

Portable tile cutter helped things go faster 

At least with tile, the water can’t seep underneath if (when??) this happens again. 

By the end of day one, over half the room had tile and spacers. We thought this would be a three day job, but the two guys finished just after 5 pm on Thursday. 

Next up is baseboards - hubby has the saw set up in the garage, ready to go - then a closet system (probably from Ikea) and we can move back downstairs. 

Can’t wait to reclaim the house and get things back where they belong.

Reverse Travel Day

We’re home! And I’m catching up on posts. 

Bye, Viking Modi!

Left the ship in Switzerland at 4:14 am Saturday 11/7, 

 Hello BSL! Aka EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg

traveled for 19+ hours and walked in our front door at 2:30 pm. 

 Sunrise between Switzerland and Amsterdam- moon and Mars (satellite?) at far right

Saw sunrise over Switzerland, 

 Amsterdam. KLM’s CityHopper taxied us for 10? more? minutes before parking in a cargo/spare parts area, then busing us a long way back to the actual terminal. So weird.

the outback of beyond in Amsterdam 

 Christmas decorations going up at Amsterdam airport

and walked 1 1/4 miles, most of it at LAX. 

First priority has been hanging out with a cat on my lap 

 Dinner on KLM. When the flight is 10+ hours, paying for lay-flat seats and decent food is worth it.

and the second was sleeping for days. 

 All our stuff made it - scuffed but not broken - to LAX! Including the pretty blue suitcase we bought in Germany because I *might* have packed too much.

Traveling is fun but being home again is better. 

Wheelhouse

Viking riverboats don’t have a traditional navigation center. 

Some bridges over the Main (and probably other rivers we haven’t been on…) are so low 

even the tables and chairs on the top deck have to be taken down and the side railings flattened. 

Instead, 

Normal view across the top deck

they have a wheelhouse that can be lowered into the deck while the boat passes under low bridges. 

 Going down!

They also don’t have a “wheel”, using those twisty thingies (gyroscopes? game controllers??) to maneuver instead. 

The officer giving our tour said they can spin the boat 360° while remaining in one spot. 

Pretty cool!

 Main stairway on Viking Modi

We toured a castle in France today, hoping to have the pics up tomorrow. Only 3 days until we head home. 

Baden-Baden, Day 6

This may be my favorite city of the trip. Beautiful buildings, interesting history, and very wealthy residents. They have a museum celebrating Carl Faberge (!!), with three of his Easter eggs. Really sad we didn’t have time to visit.

Mural on the road into town

The River Oos (Ooze) flows from the Black Forest through town. Our guide said it is normally bank-to-bank, rather than the tiny trickle it is this year. 

The fountain volcano

Baden-Baden’s theater was built in 1862 and is one of the oldest still in operation in Germany.

The Casino

Trinkhalle, or pump house, for the spa complex was built between 1839 and 1842. It’s almost 100 yards long and lined with columns and frescoes.

Bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I.  

Fountain bringing warm (so warm!) water straight from the spa’s spring. 

Pharmacy established in 1690 and still in operation.

One of two spas in town. This one opened in 1877 and is ‘textile-optional’ as our guide put it. 

 Ceiling detail

 Section of Roman ruins found under the spa

Evangelical Protestant Church, built 1853-1876. We used this as a landmark to find our way around town. Very cool gothic (?) spires. 

Black Forest cake in the Black Forest. From Cafe König - not what we were expecting (it’s not like the Americanized version) but so good!

Curved storefronts along the Main Street 

Graceful house, now a museum, near the gothic church. 

Building detail 

Frankfurt - Day 5? Maybe??

I’ve lost count of our days, which is what you’re supposed to do on vacation, right? This is either day 5 or 6…

Today was another walking tour (2.3 miles), this time in Frankfurt, Germany. It was also our ‘ship-swap’ day. The Main (pronounced Mine) River between Frankfurt and Strasbourg is too low for ships, even ones as shallow as river boats. 

Up before the sun

So last night we packed up all our stuff and today Viking will move everything to an identical sister ship in Strasbourg, France. We’ll meet up with the new ship via bus this evening. Some itineraries have multiple ship-swaps so we’re happy we only have to do this once.

 Love locked bridge

First tour stop - the Iron Bridge over the Main, with its thousands of ‘love locks’. 

 Looking toward old town and the Cathedral

Great views of the river and the financial district’s skyscrapers. 

 Farewell, Viking Skirnir! (The second boat)

Frankfurt’s old town was almost totally destroyed 

in two Allied bombing raids in March 1944. 

One timbered house from the 1470’s survived ⬆️, as did St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral.

Everything else we saw today has been reconstructed, 

 Vestibule ceiling inside the Cathedral 

sometimes to match what was there before 

- like the Romer (city hall) and central cobblestone square -

 No blindfold on this Lady Justice 

sometimes to evoke a general era, like the buildings surrounding the Cathedral. 

 St. Bart’s was visible from everywhere 

This house was destroyed 

but the original owner kept such meticulous records that the city was able to build an exact replica, 

down to the scales on the corner. It was beautiful.

We also took the 1-hour hop-on-hop-off bus tour around the city. 

Not a lot of information on this particular tour but they are usually a nice overview of new-to-us cities. 

 Traditional pottery for the local apple wine. Love the pottery, the wine not so much. 

We’re in Strasbourg for 2 days. 

Our dinner companions 

Tomorrow we visit the spa town of Baden Baden and Wednesday we tour a medieval castle. It’s getting close to going-home time…